I Am Not a Rockstar

With unparalleled technical, musical and communication skills, Marika Bournaki is at once, a world class performer, outstanding pianist, vivacious young woman… and the freshest face on the classical music scene. Marika’s innovative approach to her art and performance is reflected in her recent collaboration, “Let’s Play”, with cutting-edge and world-renowned multimedia creative shop, Moment Factory. Her role as Ambassador to the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s summer event, “A Cool Classical Journey” was an exceptional opportunity to explore new and exciting ways to share her music with the public. Marika not only brings distinctive interpretations to favourite standards, she also extends her passion for music by commissioning works by younger composers and collaborating with artists from various fields.

On January 23rd, 2015 Almonte in Concert will be screening the film “I Am Not A Rockstar”, chronicling Marika Bournaki’s evolution as an artist from the age of 12 to 20, hosted by Marika and director Bobbi Jo Hart and including a question and answer period. The following evening, January 24th, Marika will perform a recital.

This is a fabulous opportunity for students to hear and meet a young pianist to see what a career in piano performance has been like for her.

I am the secretary for Almonte in Concert and it is so exciting that we have the chance to host Marika once again (she last performed in Almonte on her 17th birthday in 2008)!

Visit almonteinconcert.com for more information about the concert itself.

Click here to hear her play and you can watch the movie trailer here.

• At the age of 5, Marika Bournaki began her piano studies.
• At 9, she was soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17.
• At 11, she played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She also won First Prize at the Pro-Piano Romania International Piano competition, held in Bucharest, and was awarded the Mihail Jora Prize by the Association of Music Critics.
• At 12, Marika was invited to perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with the Timisoara Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania.
• At 15, she won Third Prize at the 17th International Roma 2006 Piano Competition in Italy.
• At 16, she was selected as one of eight pianists worldwide to participate in the Verbier Festival Academy in Switzerland, and was invited back in 2009.
• At 20, Chatelaine Magazine named her one of Canada’s 2011 Women of the Year.
• At 21, the documentary, “I Am Not A Rock Star”, was presented as a world première at the 30th International Festival of Films on Art in Montréal. Since then, the award-winning documentary has been presented in several international film festivals.